What's that fly ash doing in my concrete?

When Paul Hummer pours the slab for the project, the concrete that he'll be using will be more sustainable than the traditional mix. That's because part of the portland cement will be replaced with fly ash. Portland cement is made from quarried limestone with some gypsum and other minerals. Fly ash is recovered from gases created by coal-fired electric power generation traditionally disposed of in land fills.
In the larger picture of sustainability the use of fly ash becomes very significant because conctete is the most used man made material on the planet. The production of portland cement for use in concrete accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the world's total carbon dioxide emmsions making it a significant contributor to global warming.

Check out the following
link for more information on the use of fly ash.

Major shout out to Paul Hummer!

Thanks to the generosity of Paul Hummer,president of Hummer Paving, the Stewardship Center is getting off the ground -or "onto the ground"the first week in May. Paul is donating the excavation, slab pouring and stone foundation for the building.We're planning for the sculptural potential of the floor - animal tracks, leaf imprints, ... any other ideas out there you'd like to share?

CTE '07

IMG_0753.jpg, originally uploaded by ncsl.

Celebrate the Earth 2007

Cob House building at CTE '07

IMG_0754.jpg, originally uploaded by ncsl.

Great Cob House!

Submit your vision for the Stewardship Center!

The Nature Center is proud to present our first vision for the new Stewardship Center. Many thanks to local public artist and designer, Stephen Manka, who, after visits and conversations, donated time and talent to the rendering pictured above. As we've said before, we'd like as much input, as many ideas and contacts, as possible contributed toward this project. After seeing the diversity of mini cob houses designed by budding architects at our Celebrate the Earth event on Saturday, we challenge all of you to be as bold as Stephen and submit a sketch of your Stewardship Center vision. Thanks...

Create your Own Cob Cottage SATURDAY

Hey everyone, this Saturday at the Nature Center's Celebrate the Earth event, we'll be creating in cob! Still wondering what cob really is? Well get off this computer, roll up your sleeves and let the natural world inspire you to create your own cob home with our green building experts Susan Clellan and Jan Zorman. Grab your family and friends and head to the NC on April 21st between 1 & 5pm, to not just learn about our environment, but celebrate and participate in it! Okay so your cob home will only be big enough to fit on the mantel of your real home, but who knows how it will inspire you and your clan. Check out Shakerlakes.org for a list of other adventures happening this saturday. Come! Play outside with us!

The county's first straw-bale house

Here's a post from the University Circle Blog, 1/19/07, about our friends Jan and Gus Kious' straw-bale house. It's another barn-raiser.

by Lee Batdorff
Greater University Circle is home to innovation. According to the Cleveland Heights-based community planning activist group, Future Heights, the first straw-bale insulated home in Cuyahoga County is currently under construction on the north side of Cedar Road east of Fairmont Blvd.

Read the full post in the UCI blog or other stories on the Kious house in the PD, Sun Press or Green City Blue Lake.

Any graphic artists out there?

We've had a lot of questions about what the Stewardship Center will look like. We have planning elevations but would love to find somebody to do an architectural rendering .